Ties that Bind
by When the Moon Met the Sun
Summary: How many times has Robin written IkexSoren? Enough that she's struggling for one more idea. :: College AU :: Inspired by Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl


_There's a car. It looks like every other car he's seen pass right by him, fancy and almost blindingly bright with the way the sunlight reflects off the snow. Soren closes his eyes, lets his head fall back against the freezing brick at his back, and curls tighter into his threadbare sweater._

 _Moments later the snow crunches under heavy footfalls and a shadow falls over him._

 _"Hey," someone says. A boy. "Hey, wake up."_

 _Soren opens his eyes only barely, and he thinks he sees the boy smile._

 _"Take my hand."_

 _Soren can't remember if he does or not, but he remembers feeling warm._

 _-"Simplicity" by Little_Bird_

-X-

"There is still time to reconsider, Robin."

Her dad's voice was curt, if not resigned. She pulled the last box out of the trunk of the car and turned to fix him with an exasperated look.

"Dad, we've been over this."

"Yes, yes," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, slamming the trunk shut. "I simply thought I'd try to get you to see reason once more. Your future is not a thing to be taken lightly, child."

"I'm taking it seriously. That's why I'm here," Robin argued, even though she knew he was no more likely to back down than she was.

His brows fell into a scowl, making his deep-set eyes look downright murderous. That, combined with the way his face was somehow cast in shadows despite the sunny weather, may have intimidated other students unpacking on the curb, but not Robin.

"A state school," he said, voice flat. "Someone of your intelligence and lineage could have attended the best private school in the country. To think your potential will be wasted here-" He cut himself off with a scoff.

"As always, Dad, your support is so appreciated," Robin replied sarcastically, setting the box down carefully on well-manicured lawn of Mila Hall. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and mimicked the scowl she'd learned from him.

Her dad looked like he was gearing up for a stinging rebuttal, but he remained silent. He never fidgeted-he just melded into another position like a jungle cat on the prowl-but he seemed ill at ease on the buzzing campus.

Eventually, sensing that it wasn't worth the battle, he sighed through his nose and simply said, "A parent wants only the best for their child."

Robin didn't know what to say to that, so she hauled the box back up into her arms. Her dad understood and calmly placed a hand on the handle of the car door.

"I trust you'll call?"

Robin shrugged, and then, at his arched brow, mumbled out a yes.

Seemingly satisfied, her dad got in the car and drove away without another glance at her. She watched until he turned the corner onto the main road and waited a few more minutes for good measure to make sure her dad wouldn't turn the car around.

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket for what seemed like the fiftieth time in the last hour on the elevator ride up to her room, and she sighed, mentally calculating how many of her emails could be review alerts.

She'd decided on an optimistic two, her thoughts quickly turning away from her dad and onto more pressing matters like her next story, when she saw a boy leaning against the wall by her door.

His eyes were closed and his arms were loosely draped over his knees. His profile was sharp and well-defined, his hair falling over his ear. Robin slowed her gait, but he heard her approach and turned his head, smiling like he knew her.

"Hey."

Robin balanced the box on her hip while she dug her key out of her pocket. She stuffed it in the lock, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. "Um, hi."

"Are you Robin?"

"Yes," she answered suspiciously.

He wasn't waiting for her. She could already tell from his downright explosive _YSU BLEEDS BLUE_ t-shirt. Whoever he was looking for definitely hadn't left their summer orientation t-shirt buried in the back of their closet at home like she had. And they were probably more receptive to overly-friendly strangers who ambushed them in hallways.

His smile didn't fade. "That's great. I'm waiting for Sully."

Ah. Her roommate. That made more sense.

"It's nice to meet you," he continued. He stood and stuck his hand out. "I'm Chrom."

"Robin. Which you already know."

He nodded. "Like the bird."

Robin gave him a look and stepped inside the threshold. Chrom peered inside the room, but she blocked his path before he could invite himself in. Even if he seemed harmless, she wasn't taking any chances by letting her roommate's...Chrom be alone in a room with her.

"Sorry, but…can you wait for her outside?"

Chrom looked confused. "Oh, I thought...nevermind. I'll just text her and see where she is. Do you want to come?"

Robin shook her head, already closing the door. He hovered in front of it for another second before he smiled again.

"Okay. I'll see you later, Robin."

The words were hardly out of his mouth when she clicked the door shut. She set her things down on her desk and made room on her bed so she could sit. She didn't even want to think about opening up her email. What she had to do was unpack-hang up her clothes, put up some Fire Emblem art to cover up the drab gray walls, go find some food.

Instead, she reached across her bed and pulled her laptop onto her folded legs. She logged into her email account and cringed at the number. 10 new messages and all but one was concerning her stories. She clicked on one at random.

 _"YOU LEFT SOREN ALONE AGAIN. i'm literally crying right now."_

Robin allowed herself a smile at that. She was always surprised how much people liked to see their favorite characters suffer, and not surprisingly, the story where she killed off Ike continued to be one of her most popular to date.

Instead of answering her messages, she pulled up her tumblr and typed a short update.

 _"I'm getting settled into college this week, so new full-length stories will probably be sporadic. Maybe I'll open my inbox for requests soon."_

In truth, she hadn't written anything new since mid-June, just the occasional drabble here and there, when before she'd churned out a new piece almost every week. Now that she was officially an English major, though, it was like the fanfiction part of her brain had just shut down. Every new work she'd started in the last few months, she'd immediately scrapped.

She just needed one idea, one sentence to spark her creativity again, and she wasn't holding out any hope for finding it.

-X-

 _"Well, this is where I live."_

 _"What if you live where I live?"_

 _"Are you asking me to move in with you?"_

 _"I'm not hearing a no."_

 _-drabble prompt_

-X-

Two weeks into the semester and she'd already seen more of Chrom than she had of her wayward roommate. Sully, a tough girl with short red hair who actually did have a ton of clothes with their school logo, always seemed to be on the move. She was at the fieldhouse or doing laps around the quad or challenging everyone in their building to match her strength.

Robin had never seen anyone that dedicated to sweating.

Consequently, Chrom hung around (outside) their room often, waiting for her to come back from the showers or class, so they could study or date or whatever it was they did. Sometimes he even stepped inside when Sully was around, but they never stuck around for long. Robin passed him in the hall almost daily, though, and he always smiled and invited her to do something with them. She always said no.

On the third week when she came back from her last class of the day and found him sitting against the wall, she said, "There are better places to wait for her than by our door. You could even work out with her and avoid it all together."

Chrom pulled his earphones out of his ears and nodded thoughtfully. "I could, and I do sometimes. But I live across campus, and I don't want to make a trek all the way out there to shower and change if I can avoid it."

"There's a perfectly good lounge on the first floor," she countered, opening the door.

"But then I don't get to see you."

His earnestness surprised her, and she replied without thinking, "That's the point."

"Oh." Chrom frowned.

"Chrom-" She tried, realizing she'd hurt him.

"No, it's okay," he insisted. "I didn't realize I was bothering you."

She watched him gather his things and throw his backpack over his shoulder.

"I'll, uh, see you around."

She nodded to his back and closed the door, feeling guilty. She didn't mind him sitting outside. He was incredibly nice, and sometimes he even made her laugh. She just didn't want to keep feeling awkward by shutting the door in his face.

And now she wouldn't. Problem solved.

Ike stared at her from the wall, his gaze firm and judgemental.

She scoffed and sat at her desk to glare at the empty page on her screen.

-X-

Two days later she saw Chrom's tell-tale navy hair when she walked in the building. He had his earphones in again and was trying to study, but a group of boys next to him were playing a particularly rowdy game of foosball.

She rubbed at her temples, hoping she wouldn't regret this.

"Hey." She tapped him on the shoulder, and he pulled one earphone out with wide eyes. "It's quieter in my room."

He hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. But I reserve the right to change my mind."

Chrom grinned and followed her without another word. He settled onto Sully's bed as she turned on her laptop and sat her desk.

"What are you working on?"

Robin subtly angled the screen away from him and minimized her document. "Nothing."

"Is it fanfiction?"

Robin gaped at him, incredulous. "I mentioned it to Sully once."

"You probably didn't have to mention it all," he said, clearly amused as he nodded at the IkexSoren art on her side of the room. "That speaks for itself."

She snapped her laptop shut and glared. "I can't believe you're making fun of me."

"I'm not!" he protested, though she didn't think she could take him seriously with that ridiculous grin on his face. "I think it's interesting."

"I don't write fanfiction all the time," Robin replied, defensive. "I'm an English major."'

"Sully told me that, too." He scooted forward to swing his legs over the side of the bed. "What have you written lately?"

Robin shook her head, exasperated. "Nothing worth mentioning."

She'd written exactly one piece for her English class, a copia assignment meant to test her creativity (and sanity) in how many ways she could rewrite the same sentence and keep its meaning.

She'd written 5 IkexSoren drabbles, all of them under 100 words. Each one had been like pulling teeth.

"Come on," he pressed. "You have to be good if you're majoring in it. There has to be something you like that you've written lately."

She laughed a little at that. "Have you ever met a writer? Everything's always a work in progress."

"So you can't like it?"

"I didn't say that. It's just that most of the time it's only okay."

"Really?" Chrom chuckled. "I think I'll be the judge of that. Let me see that."

She instinctively pulled her laptop closer to her body.

"...Unless you don't want me to." he added, already scooting back up the bed.

Robin hesitated, eying the door. "Sully's going to be here soon."

"And?"

She weighed the decision for a minute, but the writer in her wasn't about to pass up a chance feedback. "Fine."

Robin scrolled through her documents list and decided on her English assignment since it was the most impersonal.

Chrom practically glowed when she handed him the laptop. He recited from the top, his voice deep and steady, " _In the absence of perception, there is no uncertainty._ " He shot her a smile that could only be described as indulgent. "I like it already."

Robin rolled her eyes, feeling a little warmer all of a sudden. She couldn't decide if she wanted Sully to cut this short or not. An enclosed space, Sully's friend, and said friend smiling like that? Definitely trouble.

"Just keep reading."

-X-

 _"Could you be happy here with me?"_

 _Soren scoffs, turning a half-hearted glare on Ike. "How is that even a question?"_

 _Ike shrugs._

 _"Be it here or across the world, as long as I remain by your side, I'm happy."_

 _Ike throws his arm around Soren's narrow shoulders, his grin wide. "Just making sure."_

 _-drabble prompt_

-X-

"Heading out, Robin," Sully said when Robin dropped her bag on her bed.

"Going for a run?"

"Yeah, I gotta burn off some energy." Sully grabbed her phone and headphones.

"The idiots in your last class got you worked up, huh?" Robin laughed. The further along in the semester they were, the higher Sully's drive to best her peers.

She grunted and muttered something under her breath. "Speaking of idiots, Chrom'll probably show up the second I leave."

"He really does have horrible timing."

"Oh, yeah, the worst," Sully snorted. "But he's been doing it on purpose now for at least a month and a half now."

Robin looked up from where she was kicking off her boots, cautious.

Sully laughed. "You knew it already, didn't you?"

She swallowed and looked away from Sully's knowing gaze. "I, well, maybe, but-"

"But what?"

Robin sighed. "But it's Chrom."

"So? What's wrong with him?" Sully pressed. "He even looks like Ike. Kinda. If you squint."

"Sully!" Robin meant to sound angry, but she started to laugh. "Are you saying I'm Soren in this situation?"

"I'm not saying a damn thing about Ike and Soren because I don't know a damn thing about them," Sully argued, grinning. "But I am saying that sometimes ' _your heart beats a little faster upon remembering the look in his blue eyes._ '"

Robin groaned out loud and threw herself down on the bed, face buried in her pillow. "Why do you do this to me?"

"It's fun to make you squirm, Miss Little Bird."

"Just leave," Robin said, though it was muffled by the pillow.

She heard Sully practically bust a gut laughing, immediately followed by Chrom calling her name, slightly concerned.

Her heart did beat a little faster at that.

Damn it.

"Robin? Are you okay?"

God damn it.

She turned her head and found him leaning down close to her. "Yeah. Just thinking."

He chose the desk this time, his knees right up against her mattress. "About what?"

"Ike and Soren." she responded out of habit.

Like always, he shook his head and chuckled. "Again?"

"Yes, again."

She caught Chrom's gaze for a long moment, his brows knotting together under her stare.

"What?"

Robin grinned, sitting up next to him so there wasn't any space between them. She felt him startle and then slowly relax, letting his hand rest on his thigh.

"I've got an idea," she said and, without putting too much thought into it, slipped her hand into his. " _The_ idea."

He's stunned, glancing between their hands and her eyes. "You do?"

"Mm hmm." She had no clue what she was doing, but she leaned in closer to him. The blue of his eyes did make her heart beat faster, she decided, and she liked it.

"What is it?" His voice dropped to a whisper she could feel on her skin.

"I'll tell you later."

She kissed him, and it wasn't like any of the times she'd described a kiss before.

It was better.

-X-

 _"How did I not realize it?"_

 _Ike isn't asking him, but Soren tries to stop him anyway because he knows he shouldn't have said anything and he doesn't want to hear his answer._

 _Soren's heart feels like it's beating out of his chest and caving in all at once. "Ike, it isn't important. Just forget-"_

 _"I love you."_

 _Ike's voice doesn't waver._

 _-Ties that Bind, Little_Bird_


End file.
